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Day 1:

A stop-start afternoon as racing begins in light winds on the opening day in Japan

With registration completed by 11:30am the 2022 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup was officially declared open at 1pm during the opening ceremony. Throughout the morning plenty of sailors took the opportunity to squeeze in a last minute tune up with moderate winds on offer, but as the start time edged closer the wind began to slowly drop, which meant the race crew needed to move the course further out in order to find competable wind - roughly 6-10 knots.

In the end, the racing turned out to be extremely stop-start with 4 general recalls in the opening 6 Men’s Heats, whilst one sailor was disqualified from the opening heat for crossing the line in the last minute, whilst not actually being involved in Heat 1 either.

The only real upsets in the first 6 Men’s Heats were that Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7) and Arnon Dagan (Future Fly / NeilPryde) both failed to advance into the top 32, whilst the likes of Antoine Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui), Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) and Basile Jacquin (I-99 / Point-7) all cruised through their opening heats.

Elsewhere, it was a largely successful day for the local Japanese sailors as 7 of them progressed into the top 32; Kouichiro Kaku (Starboard / Severne Sails), Shinya Kunieda (Patrik / Loftsails), Daisuke Ikoma (RRD / NeilPryde), Tomonori Anami (Starboard / Severne Sails), Sota Kanagami (Tabou / GA Sails), Anami Kenta and Norio Asano (Fanatic / S2Maui).

Unfortunately, only one heat of the Women’s opening elimination was able to be completed before the wind became too light. 5-time world champion - Delphine Cousin Questel (FMX Racing / S2Maui) claimed a clear cut victory in the opening quarterfinal, whilst Yuki Sunaga (Loftsails), Miki Yamabe and Veerle ten Have (Starboard / Severne Sails) secured the remaining places in the top 4 to qualify for the opening semifinal.

Video Credit: Pwaworldtour  AALVAA  Media

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